Taking Me Over Completely
by Leah Naberrie
Summary: AU from 6x12 end. Luke didn't get there on time. Jo and Kai merged. Jo won. Kai lost. And they all lived happily ever after. The end. ... Right? ... Right? (Starring bi!Bonnie, Bonjo... Bonkai... and Baroline if you squint, Gemini coven mythlore, and the usual Mystic Falls riffraff).
1. The Mercury-Venus Conjunction

**Chapter One. The Mercury-Venus Conjunction**

 _Finally a familiar feeling. Luke didn't take me over completely._

 _-Kai Parker._

Luke Parker walked across campus, deliberately not paying attention to where he was going, letting only the sense of his siblings's aura guide him. His left hand was in his pocket, holding onto his phone.

It wasn't until he saw the tears running down Liv's cheeks as their father forced the Merge on them that Luke realized what he somehow always knew… She was right. If they merged, Luke would win.

He knew his twin better better than she knew herself. Liv was selfish, and hot-headed, and had a violent streak. He would make a far better leader to the coven than she ever would.

And still, Luke could not live in a world where his sister died at his hands.

So he made up his mind to take a third option, a mad idea that just might work and save the lives of not just one but two of his sisters, and maybe himself as well.

The rules of the Merge had existed for millennia. Magic harnessed from a celestial event – tonight was the Mercury Venus conjunction. A set of twenty-two year old twins from their bloodline. Luke was a twin. So was Kai. They shared the same blood. They had the same parents.

And, strangely enough, they were the same age.

If you searched hard enough, you could find the loophole in every spell.

Luke reached a crossroad. He could sense them more clearly. They were near. Jo and Kai. He took his phone out of his pocket, and typed out Ian's number without checking his contacts.

He hesitated.

Liv thought that she was the only one in love, the only one who had something to live for, to fight for. But just because Luke had told her that the coven came first before everything else didn't mean that it was easy for him either.

That he didn't have someone to lose.

Luke pressed the Dial button.

He only wanted to leave a message – just in case, it didn't work… or in case, he lost – but Ian answered on the first ring. The two-minute call turned into ten minutes of _goodbyes, I wish I could explains, I'm sorrys._

In the middle of the call, a wavefront of energy crashed into him. The earth shook as the power of the Conjunction ripped through the sky and come crashing onto the earth like lightning to a rod.

Luke switched off his phone and started running. But he already knew that it was too late.

He turned around a corner and he was in the field.

The ball of light and magic blazed so bright he could barely make out the two figures in the middle. He tried, futilely to shoot a stun spell towards them, to stop them, but it only rebounded, almost hitting him. He could hear their voices chanting in his very bones and wave upon wave of power kept slamming into him.

"Jo! Kai! Stop!"

It was useless. He watched, powerless as the magic reached its crescendo and lightning shot up from the ground back into the celestial event that fuelled the spell. Then the ball vanished, leaving behind two frozen figures, locked together. A breath passed. Then the air seemed to sigh and they fell apart like columns, crashing into the ground.

Luke ran to his sister and cradled her head in his arms. He imagined this was how she had cradled him when he was a baby, when his eighteen year old sister had had to play the role of their parents – parents who were too caught up in their own importance and ambition to see their second set of twins as anything more than a means of solidifying their dynasty.

Luke imagined this was how Jo had held him and Liv when she was hiding them from a brother who had already dipped his hands in the blood of four of his siblings.

"Jo, wake up. Please, wake up," he whispered to her, stroking her hair gently. She had saved him and Liv when they were four, literally given up her spleen to keep them alive.

No matter what Liv felt, this wasn't fair.

"Oh my god, Jo," Luke cried.

Ian. Tyler. Heck even, Alaric Saltzman. The Salvatores. Elena Gilbert. Luke, Liv and Jo had let them in. They had got too close. And they had forgotten the most important rule.

The coven always came first.

And now, because Luke couldn't hang up the phone on his boyfriend, his sister was dying, and a mad man would lead their people into the abyss.

And his four dead siblings had died in vain.

A dark figure blurred into the scene and Luke was looking up into Damon Salvatore's face.

Damon stared at Jo with something almost like fear in his face. "Alaric is going to kill me," he muttered.

Luke was too mentally exhausted to give the vampire an aneurysm.

"You let Kai out, didn't you?" he said through gritted teeth.

"I had to-"

"Shut up, Damon."

"Watch it, witch…"

"Witch what?" Luke snapped, and he could feel his rage start kindling. "Witch monkey? That's what my family is to you, isn't it? Do you have any idea what you've just-" He would have said more but at that moment, a sharp gasp pierced the air.

Instinctively, Luke's eyes went across the glade to the prone figure that was lying on his back. It took a few seconds for him to register that the body in his arms was moving.

He stared down in shock.

Jo's blue eyes stared up at him.

"Jo?" he whispered, almost scared. He put a hand on her cheek. "Jo?"

Jo blinked at him. Once. Twice. Then she sat up, slowly, still staring at him.

Luke and Damon stared back.

"Luke?" she whispered. "What happened?"

He shook his head, barely able to believe it. Once again, his eyes cut across to the other figure on the field. Still down.

Forever down now.

Damon was already there, his hand on Kai's neck. "He's dead!" he shouted, his voice as unbelieving as Luke felt.

Jo laughed. It was a shocked, gasping sound that ended in a sob.

"I won. I actually won."

Then she threw her arms around her younger brother – her _only_ brother now.

And that was when it sunk in. Luke crowed with laughter, hugging her so tightly that they almost tipped over. Jo had won. Of course, she had won. How could he have ever doubted her?

It was only two decades of his father insisting that Jo could never win against Kai. It was only two weeks of watching her try to control the magic she was born with and fail, while Kai beat her at every turn with stolen magic.

In the end, the Merge – not Joshua Parker's latent contempt for his first daughter, not Luke's scepticism, not even Liv's stubborn hope – had proven who the stronger twin was.

Jo was still smiling when she got to her feet. She held out her hand to Luke and he laughed as he let her pull him up.

They looked at each other and hugged, laughing again. Arms around each other, they walked out of the field, Damon tagging behind them and saying something about Alaric now being a First Lady and starting a betting pool on future Mystical Twin Merge outcomes.

Jo pulled up short when they reached Kai's body. His eyes were open, staring up at the skies.

She knelt beside it. "Goodbye, Malachi." Gently, she closed his eyes.

Luke stared at his brother – his dead brother. Malachi Parker had been the monster under his bed for his entire childhood and most of his adult life.

Now he just looked like… a kid, really. He didn't even really look as old as Luke. The lean frame in the dirty hoodie looked harmless… ordinary. In his death, Malachi Parker looked peaceful.

Jo kept staring, and she cocked her head a little and swivelled at Damon. "Take off his head."

Damon, who had still been rambling about his GTM (Gemini Twin Merge) betting pool, cut himself off and stared at her.

Luke gaped at her. "What? Why?"

Jo shrugged. "You know how in horror stories, the killer is never really dead unless it's a head-shot or a decapitation. I want to be sure."

Luke swallowed. "He's dead, Jo. He lost. He can't come back even if there was an Other Side. It doesn't work that way."

"Chopping off your dead brother's head? That's dark, even for me," Damon muttered.

Jo sighed, rolling her head on her neck in a gesture that was eerily familiar… "There was a very good chance that I would have died this night because of your selfishness, Damon. I think this is the least you can do for me."

Damon glared. She glared back, her eyes narrowing. Then the vampire shrugged. "Whatever," he muttered and with one swift motion, Kai's head went rolling across the glade.

Jo watched it with grim satisfaction.

"Now, I have to clean up this mess," the vampire muttered, going after it. "So much for getting home quickly to my hot girlfriend."

Jo reached up a hand. It took Luke a while to realize that she was asking him to help her up. After some hesitation, he stretched out his hand and pulled her to her feet.

She smiled at him. "Any plans for tonight?"

Luke shook his head, numbly. There was Ian, but now… Now, he just wanted to be near his sister.

Who he had almost lost but by some miracle, she had saved herself.

Hadn't she?

"Want to watch while I break the good news to Joshua Parker? Turns out weak little Sissy is his new boss." She laughed, her eyes glinting.

Luke laughed back, uncertainly. Linking arms again, the Parker siblings walked out of the glade together.

 _"One will absorb traits from the other. Both of your souls will unite into a new being."_

Joshua's words nagged at Luke. A memory struck Luke then. A faint memory, one of the few he had of his childhood - most of which he had lost after the traumatic events of 1994. But this one had stuck. His brothers, Joey and Kai, playing some stupid video game. And Kai crowing at the end over Joey, smirking about winning.

 _"Some win and some lose. But not me, **I always win**."_

The memory rattled in his head, intertwining with his father's words to form a message Luke was not ready to hear. So he pushed them out and tightened his grip around his sister, Josette Parker, now Dr. Jo Laughlin, the new leader of the Gemini Coven.

Kai had been wrong. He had lost. Jo had won. The nightmare that started in 1994 was finally over.

It had to be.

* * *

 **Next: Chapter 2, Happy Birthday, Bonnie Bennett**

* * *

A/N: A new story! In celebration for surviving my finals! I am so glad that it's over! OK, some tumblr folks may remember this one. This story all started with one what-if, "What if Jo had won the Merge?" How would that have affected the story if everything else in canon remained the same? So it got me thinking about Gemini magic, and Joshua Parker's words about merging personalities, and how Luke affecting Kai's sociopathy had given him a form of victory, and Kai's cryptic words that he always won... You can probably guess where this story is going, right? And if you can't, all the better. Although I will spoil you about one thing - the story starts with Kai appearing to "die"- but this isn't the last we see of our not-so-friendly neighborhood sociopath.

This is half-way written so updates will be regular for a while, then not-so regular. ! I'm so sorry but I'm juggling this and 4 other BK work-in-progress stories. But the good news is that... Finals are over! LOL! I have a few weeks to laze around and I intend to devote them to writing. So expect more regular updates from all my fics this winter. (And yes, Original Sin will finally be posted in its entirety!) Thanks in advance for reading and reviewing. Let me know what you think and feel free to ask as many questions as you like. :)


	2. Happy Birthday, Bonnie Bennett

**Chapter Two. Happy Birthday, Bonnie Bennett**

The room was thick with magic, the enchantment heavy in the air as the Gemini leader intoned the words of the spell. She and Jeremy sat cross-legged on the Salvatore living room floor, fingers interlocked. Jeremy was frozen, the glazed look in his eyes indicating that he was far away from there.

Damon had left, claiming that the tension of anticipation was unbearable. Elena was right at his heels. Only Alaric waited, sitting at the bar with a beer in hand, watching the two tensely.

And he was the only one who stood to defend them when Enzo strolled into the boarding house.

"A bit late for the party?" Alaric asked, giving Enzo a cautious glance. He didn't know the other vampire too well. Just that he and Damon went a long way back.

Which could mean practically anything knowing Damon.

"Yeah," Enzo murmured, smiling easily. "My invite came late." He nodded at Jeremy. "Wanted a word with baby Gilbert there."

Alaric shrugged. "You have to wait."

Enzo gave Jo and Jeremy a glance, then turned back to Alaric with the same easy smile, and shook his head. "Sorry, mate. Not going to."

Before Alaric could register the words, the vampire had grabbed him by the neck and smashed his head into the counter.

Alaric fell onto the floor in a heap.

Enzo smirked, then made a bee-line for Jeremy Gilbert.

"Hello Jeremy, where's your mate, Matt? I've been meaning to chat with you two blokes."

He shoved at the boy, but the boy was still, frozen in the trance. Enzo frowned, then turned to look at the dark-haired witch who was casting across the boy.

"Huh," he muttered, walking around the two figures. He could feel the magic prickling against his skin. It was clear that they were completely oblivious of his presence, to their entire surroundings in fact. A look of sheer mischief streaked his face, and he strolled to the fireplace.

"It's no fun if they can't feel you torturing them," he muttered and he drove a poker through the witch.

The weight of magic ceased immediately as Jo's eyes flew open, her mouth stretched into a scream.

* * *

Enzo, Damon and Elena battled it out in the wreckage of the living room while Alaric, whom Elena had managed to revive, carried the doctor in his arms to the kitchen, Jeremy at his heels.

"Ask Damon or Elena to come quickly. We need blood!" Alaric cried as he tried to prop Jo up, his fist hard on the hole in her chest.

"I already did. They need to get rid of Enzo first," Jeremy said distractedly, his hands reaching for Jo. "Jo," he said urgently. "The spell. Bonnie…"

Alaric turned on him in anger. "Are you crazy? She's half-dead!"

"Bonnie's going to _kill herself_!" Jeremy shouted.

Something wavered in Alaric's face for a moment. "Jo needs to heal herself before she do any more magic. It was already draining her as it was."

"There's no time! Jo…" He grabbed at her shoulder.

Alaric shoved Jeremy off. "I said NO!" Jeremy was on his feet at once. Alaric rose to meet him. The two men glared at each other, eyeball to eyeball.

"Yes."

They both spun, turned to look down at Jo. She had pulled herself up, her own hand pressed hard against her wound. Her eyes were glazy, and she shook her head twice as if she was trying to clear it. But she was stretching out her other hand.

Alaric tried to take it, but she shied away – and it became apparent that she was reaching for Jeremy.

Jeremy was at her side at once, clinging. "Jo, please… Bonnie needs help…"

"Jo," Alaric said urgently. "You can't do this. You're too weak."

"She's going to kill herself," Jo whispered.

"Just wait!" Alaric cried.

"No time. We've waited too long already…"

And before he could stop her, he could feel the veil of magic falling again, sweeping her and Jeremy away from him.

* * *

Jo had got blood from Damon in the end, swallowing life seconds before it had slipped from her completely. He and Elena were filling Alaric in about what they did to Enzo at the moment. Other than getting reassurance that he hadn't been there for her in particular and wasn't returning soon, Jo hadn't stayed for the debrief, going to a bathroom to do something about her blood-soaked clothes and the stench of death that still hung over her.

Elena had given her a new shirt and Jo had even taken a quick shower, but she could still smell blood on her skin. Her entire body shook with exhaustion, magic still trembling over her. She tied her wet hair into a bun and peered into the mirror.

Creamy, pale skin – a bit too pale for Spring but nothing a little sun won't fix. High cheekbones. Deep blue eyes beneath long lashes, behind dark circles. Tired. She clearly needed a vacation.

Jo caught her own gaze, and was locked in it. Staring at her eyes, as they became darker and darker and darker…

"Jo, are you OK?"

Elena's voice jolted her. Jo blinked rapidly, watching her pupils contract back to normal.

"Yes, I'm almost done."

She did her makeup automatically and stepped out of the bathroom.

And right into Elena's embrace.

"Thank you so much for what you did for Bonnie. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

Jo stood stiffly in Elena's arms and waited until it was over.

Elena looked at her, clearly surprised at the hug that wasn't returned.

"You don't have to thank me," Jo said coolly. "Sheila Bennett was my mentor. It was the least I could do. I just wish you had thought to ask me for help earlier. I've had the Ascendant all this while. She should never have stayed there a day longer than Damon."

The sight of that poor girl drinking herself to the point where she could take her life seemed like it was burnt into Jo's memory. She already knew that Bonnie Bennett's beautiful tear-streaked face would haunt her for a long time.

"There was so much going on," Elena said now, her tone filled with apology. "At first, Damon thought she was dead. Then we were trying to stop your brother from getting out. Then he got out after all…"

"I'm on call this evening, Elena. Is there anything else?"

Jo's words were sharp and Elena's blinked. "N-no. I guess not."

Jo smiled thinly. "Please tell Alaric to meet me downstairs. Tell the others I had to leave in a hurry."

She was at the front door, putting on her jacket when Alaric met her with Elena and Damon. His eyes were ever so slightly dilated. Clearly he had taken a few more beers. Jo sniffed.

"I thought we were staying longer," he whispered to her as he hastily tried to help her with her jacket.

"No, we aren't," she said shortly.

She pulled out the small box from inside her coat and gave it to Elena. "Here. I forgot this. Happy Birthday."

"Thank you," Elena said, hesitantly, "but it's Bonnie's birthday actually."

"Yet you're the one that's having a party," Jo said sweetly.

She left them at the doorway, Elena's face filled with hurt and surprise, Damon's eyebrows screwed up comically and Alaric stammering apologies.

He met her in the car and she was already behind the wheel. He opened his mouth to protest and she quelled him with a look. Meekly, he got into the passenger's seat.

After half an hour of uncomfortable silence, during which Alaric opened and shut his mouth in failed attempts at conversation several times, he finally got out the words.

"Are you mad that I tried to stop you from doing the spell?"

Jo was silent.

"Because I won't apologize for that. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you from Enzo. But I'm not sorry that I wanted Jeremy to wait." He breathed heavily. "You should know by now that I would never want anything to hurt you."

"Oh, I know that."

The tone of her voice made him look at her sharply. "What does that mean?"

"When you stole the Ascendant for Damon…"

He gaped. "That? He compelled me. I'd never have risked Kai getting out."

"My point exactly. So you'd rather Bonnie continue to suffer at the hands of my psychotic brother when you knew she was there alone, without magic?"

Alaric looked confused, slightly annoyed, even. "I was trying to keep you safe."

That snapped her out of her cold feigned calm. "I was safe! Do you know who wasn't? Bonnie! Do you know why Kai got out? Because Bonnie was there with him. A Bennett witch with Bennett blood who knew how to do the spell to get him out. Your 'trying to keep me safe' was the reason why Kai was able to escape."

"You know, I didn't actually stop Damon and Elena from rescuing Bonnie. Kai was already out, and destroyed the Ascendant. I had nothing to do with that."

"No. You had nothing to do with anything, except begrudge the fact that they were trying to bring her back."

"Jo!"

She ignored the hurt and anger in his voice, and went on doggedly, "Bonnie sent her magic back to keep us all safe and you couldn't lift a finger to help her in return."

"I was going to help her," he insisted, pleaded even. "I _would_ have helped her. I just didn't want to –"

"To what? Risk losing me? You shouldn't even _have_ me. You were dead, Alaric. The only reason why you're alive is because of the same girl you couldn't risk me to help."

Alaric recoiled. For a moment, the car was filled with tense, pained silence as Jo stared determinedly at the road in front of her, ignoring the offended look he was now throwing at her.

"You didn't seem to have a problem with this a month ago," he said at last, accusingly. "If I remember, you drove me over the boundary to convince me that Damon had compelled me!"

"A month ago, Bonnie wasn't trying to kill herself because she thought that everyone she loved had abandoned her!"

Her vision was blurred. Angrily, Jo wiped at her face. He reached for her, and she flinched. His hand flailed, then fell to his side.

There was another silence. This one was longer. The car had long passed the 'Goodbye from Mystic Falls' sign, when Alaric spoke again, his voice hoarse and heavy.

"Bonnie is… she's the most resilient person I know. I would never have dreamed she would try to commit suicide."

"She was trapped there all by herself for five months, Alaric," Jo snapped. "She thought everyone had forgotten her, had given up on her, had moved on with their lives and left her there to rot. She could have left there months ago but she was so determined to save us all from Kai that she locked herself up with him. To keep us safe. Fat good it did her," she said the last with a snarl and wiped at her face again.

Alaric looked at her warily and said nothing.

"Her so-called best friends threw a party today and said it was what Bonnie wanted. And do you know the saddest thing? They're right. She would want them to go on with their lives and not worry about her. She freaking _died_ and she made Jeremy keep it a secret for the whole summer so it won't get in the way of Elena and Damon having sex 24/7 for three months."

"It wasn't their fault that she kept it from them. That was Bonnie's choice," Alaric insisted quietly.

"Just as it was her choice to bring you back from the dead. And the werewolf. And Stefan Salvatore. And that waste of space with the English accent. The one who almost killed me and destroyed any chance of her coming back. And just about everybody in Elena's and Damon's circle of friends. Yet not one of you chose to do the same for her," Jo said heavily.

Alaric sighed. There was another long silence.

"I am sorry, Jo."

"Save it. I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

* * *

Next:

 **Chapter Three. The Exhumation of Lily Salvatore**

Just a note. Please this fic is unbeta'd so if you see any typos, etc, please let me know. And, of course, just let me know in general if you like it by reviewing. :)


	3. The Exhumation of Lily Salvatore

**Chapter Three. The Exhumation of Lily Salvatore**

"I am so glad Bonnie made it back. Any day longer and I swear Jo would have broken up with me. Did _you_ know that Jo and Sheila Bennett used to be so tight? Because suddenly, I'm the bad guy in all this from not getting that in the first place."

Damon didn't even bother looking up, just kept hacking at the wooden floor while Alaric sat on the raised concrete, beer can in hand.

"She can't seem to let it go. We're having breakfast, and I'm talking about mid-terms and Jo will look up at me and say, 'You know who won't be able to write her mid-terms this week? Bonnie.' And it's a trap because, I answer and I set her off and if I don't answer, I set her off." He swigged his beer.

Damon grunted as door broken, he tossed the ax aside and got on his knees to start lifting out the wooden box.

"And I never know when it's going to be an issue because sometimes, she acts like if everything's fine with us, as if there isn't this on-going fight. Then I tell myself, 'OK, maybe I should bring it up now and we can talk about it like adults', and then we do, she's reasonable, she even apologizes for getting carried away, says it's because of the whole experience on Bonnie's birthday. By the way, Damon, next time Elena wants to throw a birthday for someone who isn't technically even alive… stop her. Or better yet, don't invite me or my girlfriend, OK?"

"Noted," Damon muttered, setting the box on the floor.

"The first time, we talked, I was so glad it was all over, and we even made up properly." Alaric smiled at the memory, ignoring the gagging look Damon threw at him. His smile slipped off as the memory played out in his head, and he drained the can morosely. "The next morning, she made pancakes and asked me how I'd like to eat them every day for nine months. Because, apparently, that's what Bonnie did in the Prison World. How does Jo even know this stuff? Is it some Gemini leader thing? Gives her some weird magical insight into everything that went on in that place?"

Damon was prying open the box now, and didn't respond. Alaric watched him silently, mulling over the now empty can in his hand.

"Ok, fine. In retrospect, I should have tried harder to find some other way to get Bonnie out. I admit that much. But I'm not the dick that Jo is making me out to be here."

That got Damon's attention. He turned around to look at Alaric fully. "The irony of that statement has literally rendered me not-speechless."

Alaric tossed the can at his head.

Snickering, Damon turned back to the box and pried off the lid. His grin slipped off his face as he stared at the empty coffin in front of him.

The coffin that was supposed to house the remains of Lily Salvatore, beloved wife and mother.

Alaric stood up, and came to look over his shoulder.

"Wow, as if I didn't have enough already to be depressed about."

* * *

Caroline flounced off their dorm and Bonnie stared after her back, feeling slightly sick.

"Wow, that wasn't depressing at all," she muttered.

"Sorry," Elena said, with a sigh. "Not exactly the homecoming you imagined."

Bonnie shrugged. "I'm just glad to be back," she whispered. And she was. Of course, she was.

Elena's phone beeped then and she glanced at it, then quickly grabbed her bag. "Jo told me that she'd swing by my dorm to pick me up for runs this afternoon. Walk me to the door? Let's talk some more."

The name rang a bell but Bonnie couldn't remember who Jo was supposed to be and Elena didn't stop to explain, as they walked through the dorm. Instead she launched into a mostly one-sided discussion about her work at the hospital and how much she had learnt in the past year and how motivated she was. She descended into a lot of technical jargon that went over Bonnie's head but it was nice to see Elena so passionate about something that wasn't called Salvatore.

Of course, the fact that Elena had been able to get passionate about her studies while Bonnie was living in stasis for nine months could have grated but Bonnie wasn't petty like that.

They walked through the front hall, Elena stopping to greet a few unfamiliar faces without bothering to introduce Bonnie, and then they were out the front doors.

"Jo's early!" Elena gasped, falling out of her casual mood to one of panic. "I thought she was just entering campus and we'd stand and wait a little. I'm already in enough trouble. Bye, Bonnie!"

With a hurried half-hug, she took off to the car stalling across the street.

The sun was in Bonnie's eyes and she could barely make out the dark-haired, pale-faced figure behind the wheel. So she didn't know why she was so certain that the woman – Jo – was staring hard at her. Hard enough to make goose-bumps break out over Bonnie's skin. Or why, as the car drove past – slowly – she still felt those eyes on her through the rear view mirror.

She just knew.

It was a warm day but Bonnie shivered, wrapped her hands around her bare arms, and shook herself mentally. She was imagining things. This evening, she was going to the first party she'd been to for over a year. A party where she could actually enjoy herself without being tense and nervous, waiting for some undead supernatural creature to walk through her.

And without the shadow of Kai Parker's presence lurking in her subconscious. It had been her great fear returning, and when Damon had told her the previous night that he was dead, she had expected to be relieved.

And she was, she told herself firmly now as she turned back into the hall, passing mostly unfamiliar faces and hearing catches of unfamiliar voices as she found her way to her room. And this evening, Caroline's humanity switch or not, Bonnie was going to enjoy herself.

"I'm glad to be back," she whispered to herself.

If she said it enough times, maybe it would start sounding true.

* * *

Damon had to compel himself through two nurses and a receptionist to see her. When he strolled into Jo's office, and compelled off the young man she was examining, she whacked him over the head with her stethoscope.

"Hey!"

"I actually work here, Damon," she snapped, "a concept completely foreign to someone who steals and cheats for his livelihood so unless you are suffering from a medical emergency…"

"My supposedly dead mother is alive and probably not well in a Gemini prison world. That should cover the medical and emergency respectively, don't you think?"

She gave him a dirty side-eye as she walked round her desk, sat at her chair. She pulled the keyboard towards her and started typing rapidly.

Damon stared. "Er… I'm all for modern technology but unless, you're preparing a shipment to deliver an Ascendant to me…"

She didn't even look up. "Quiet. This is a prescription for that poor boy you shoved out of my office. I need to concentrate to write this."

He managed – barely – to keep his jaw clenched until she finished typing. Then she pushed aside the keyboard and started writing with a pen on a pad.

"Can I speak now?" He said through gritted teeth.

Jo heaved a loud sigh, but kept writing. "I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Alaric when he told me about Bonnie's video, and asked me about this. Yes, your mother is in a Gemini prison world. No, I'm not going to help you break her out."

He forced himself to keep up the charm, not dip into the anger that was simmering underneath. "Yeah, I got the message. And look, I'm not asking you to take time out of your busy schedule, O high and mighty coven President. Just give me the Ascendant. I've got my own witch to do the spell."

That finally got a reaction out of Jo. She dropped her pen and glared up at Damon.

"You have a witch?"

"Bonnie Bennett? About this high? Went to high school with your pet student, my girlfriend? Was grand-daughter to your beloved mentor, may the Ancestors rest her witchy soul?" He grinned charmingly and, remembering Alaric's advice, added, "She and I are besties right now. Ride and die to the end. I was the first person she came to when she got out."

Something flashed through Jo's eyes. Something cold and lethal and _furious_ that sent a shiver of alarm up Damon's spine and almost reminded him of…

Then she blinked, and he was looking at the cool contempt on her face and wondering if he had imagined it.

"And she is _your_ witch? You mean, like your car or your house?" She asked, her voice as chilly as her eyes.

Damon frowned. "Don't get all politically correct with me. Bonnie and I talk to each other like that all the time."

"You mean you talk to her like that all the time and she doesn't have a choice but to stand there and take it."

"Clearly, you don't know Bonnie at all!" Damon said, laughing.

Her eyebrows went up.

"But you think you do?" she asked, softly. "So tell me, Damon. You want Bonnie to do the spell for you to take you back to the 1903 prison world to find your mother?"

"Yes, that's about right."

"She just got out of the 1994 prison world. Where you left her for five months to be tormented by my brother-"

"Now, wait just a minute…"

"She's been back for a literal day and you're already planning an expedition trip back to the same prison world she was stuck in?"

All humour had leached out of Damon's face. Now he was glaring at her in fury. "The only reason why I didn't have a chance to save Bonnie earlier was because I was too busy protecting your ungrateful butt from your psycho brother."

Jo frowned. "I'm thinking hard and all I remember was you lolling around the non-magic barrier when Alaric saved me. _Once_."

"Hey!"

"Then I remember me helping you to save Elena from Kai. You put _me_ in danger. Then you put me in danger _again_ when you let Kai out before I was ready."

Like a switch, Damon's glare turned to a smarmy leer. "Well, obviously you _were_ ready otherwise I'd be talking to him now instead of you!"

"You are such a tool, Damon." Jo muttered, her voice dripping with disgust.

That flared him right back again. He clenched his fists and resisted the overwhelming impulse to snap her neck. "OK, that's enough with the personal remarks. Give me the 1903 Ascendant and I'll be on my way."

"I will _never_ give you the 1903 Ascendant."

Damon froze. Of all the answers he expected from Jo Laughlin, that was _not_ the one he was prepared for.

 _"What the hell did you just say?"_

For the first time since he stepped into her office, an almost-smile – well, more like a smirk – softened the doctor's stern face. She placed her hands on her desk, leaning back in her seat so that she tipped backwards.

"Damon, I don't know how to put that in smaller words."

"My mother is trapped there!"

"And there she will stay. Do you even want to know why she's locked up in a Gemini Prison World?"

"I. don't. care. She's my mother and I want her out."

"No dice. Now get out of my office, I have work to do. And the next time you pull a stunt like you did today, you'll regret it."

Alaric's girlfriend or no… Damon rushed at her, every intention of using vamp speed to at least slam her against the wall, or twist her arm, or just remind her that he wasn't as domesticated as they all liked to pretend.

He slammed into an empty chair. She had vanished in the middle of his rush.

The whoosh behind him alerted him a second too late, and then he was flying out the window.

And his daylight ring was gone.

* * *

Next:

 **Chapter Four. Happy Raving!**

A/N: Thanks to everyone who stopped to review! **JustStockton** , I completely agree that they really underused Jo, and the entirety of the Gemini coven/mythlore. **MauvaiseFille** , I always love writing people call out her 'friends' on the crappy whey they treat her. **TheDarkPlume** , as you know, I'd started writing this long before season 7 aired and this chapter was written early, too but in retrospect - after all the crap Alaric pulled with the Pheonix stone for Jo - it was good for me to re-read this part. **Malachai-Bennett** , think of this fic like Dr. parker in reverse and you'll have an idea. :D **LanaLex** , I snorted with laughter at that - like if Kai got PMS! That is a good one. Can I use it in the fic summary going forward? thanks for both reviews! **nekilarose** \- You remember it! It was a long time 'incubating' but I'm finally glad it's long enough to post now. **IamSinemD** \- thank you! I intend to!

Please this fic is unbeta'd so if you see any typos, etc, please let me know. And, of course, just let me know in general if you like it by reviewing. :)


	4. Happy Raving

**Chapter Four. Happy Raving**

There was a rave on campus, and in a few hours, the casualties of alcohol poisoning, drug-and-alcohol cocktail abuse, fights, and even the occasional rape would be pouring into the Emergency Room.

So Jo smirked as she stepped through the main doors of her apartment building. Thank goodness, she wasn't the one on call this night. If they were lucky, they'd lose a few of the losers too, and that would thin out the imbecile half of the gene pool.

She was halfway up the elevator, when she started. What kind of sadistic thought was that?

 _Kai_.

She pushed the thought out of her head as soon as it entered. Kai was gone. Yes, Jo had expected to feel some sign of her twin's presence within her after the Merge. Had, of course, known all about the soul-merging myth and how she and Kai would become a new being, united in her own body.

But that was what it had turned out to be – a myth. Something to sweeten the conscience when their society brainwashed children into wanting to murder their flesh and blood.

Or maybe it was true but her heartless brother had been soulless too, and there was nothing of him left behind. Whatever the reason, Jo felt no new presence in her being, no change in her personality. If she was a bit brasher since the Merge, it was due to the self-confidence that winning had given her.

Apparently, forty years of being told that she was not good enough had affected her more than she realized.

She pictured Damon Salvatore flying through her window and smirked again. What an adrenaline rush. It would have been even better if it had happening an hour earlier while there was still daylight to burn the vampire. It would be a while before she saw him again. Certainly not during her office hours. She pushed her hand through her coat jacket and felt the lapus lazuli daylight ring.

He'd probably send his buddy, dear Alaric, to come begging for it tomorrow. Thank goodness she had already cried off their standard dinner date. For this night at least, she'd have some peace and quiet.

When she stepped into her apartment and found Joshua Parker waiting for her, she felt like kicking her shoes off and into his face.

"Josette!" He gasped and reached to embrace her.

It was the first time she had seen her father in almost twenty years. It was the first time she had heard from him since he tried to kill her on Thanksgiving.

She side-stepped his embrace, and walked straight to the bar, stepping out of her shoes, and dropping her bag as she did.

"If we're going to have this conversation, I need a stiff drink."

He dropped his arms, bowed his head. "I guess I'll start by apologizing for what happened last year."

Jo poured herself a drink from the first bottle she grabbed. "You mean the time when you tried to melt my brain through my eyes? I'd forgotten all about it." She downed the glass, then shuddered. "Why does Alaric bring this disgusting bourborn stuff to my house?" she muttered, and reached for another bottle.

Joshua sighed. "You're the leader now, the Gemini Praetor. You'll soon realize the stakes involved in running this coven. You can't hate me for what I've only ever done to protect all of us."

Jo snorted into her glass. "To protect the _coven_ , Dad. My father, the great coven leader, who would sacrifice his own daughter. Did any of your children ever matter to you, Dad?"

"I was wrong about you, Jo, I can see that now. You are stronger than I ever gave you credit for. You're going to have to be even stronger to move past our previous differences if you want this coven to move on seamlessly."

She didn't say anything, just eyed him as she poured yet another glass. She hadn't offered him one, or even offered him a seat after he had stood up to greet her, so he just stood awkwardly in the middle of her room, talking across to her.

"I've run the coven since before you were born. You should have been trained for it, but with Malachi…" He shrugged, looking down for a while and missing the flash in Jo's eyes. "I can guide you for the first year, teaching you all you need to know to lead. When are you returning to Portland?"

"Who said anything about going to Portland?"

Her father eyed her in surprise. "It's the seat of the coven. You can't rule without a physical presence there."

Jo hopped on a bar stool, swung in a half-circle. "Here bar stool is now the seat of the Gemini coven. Wherever I place my fucking ass is where the fucking seat of the fucking coven is."

Her father blanched. "Watch your language, Josette."

"My fucking house, my fucking language. You don't like the way I talk then get the fuck out."

His lips tightened. "Don't be unreasonable."

"You know what? Get the fuck out right now."

Her father's face turned red and he took a step forward.

Jo was on her feet at once, her hands clenched and crackling with power.

Joshua Parker halted.

Jo grinned dangerously. "We're not little kids, anymore, Dad. You don't get to push us around."

He started, anger moving quickly to confusion. "Us?"

Jo stared at him, and a look of puzzlement passed across her face. Then she sat down, heavily. "Just leave, Dad. I'll give you a call. I've had a long day and too much to drink to handle this right now."

"Jo-"

"Please," she said, desperately.

He heaved an impatient sigh. "Fine. But this conversation isn't over, Josette."

"Hip hip hurray," she muttered, and went back to her drink.

His hand was at the knob, when he turned back. "Why did you take the 1903 Ascendant?"

She froze for a long moment. Then she shrugged, without turning. "Why not? I don't owe you an explanation."

His temper flared, his voice rising. "Do you have any idea-" He broke off, when she turned to glare at him, and then swallowed his anger. "Are you aware of the prisoners who are in there?"

Her brows raised. "Prisoners? I thought there was only one? Lily Salvatore?"

He frowned at her. "Why would we build a prison world for just one vampire? You're smarter than that, Jo."

It was apparently a wrong thing to say because a dark cloud passed over her eyes. "Yeah, Jo was always the smart one, right?"

"What-?"

"You can get out of my house, Dad, and we can have this conversation tomorrow when we're both less likely to try to murder each other or I can join the long line of Gemini leaders who've had to commit patricide."

His lips tightened. "I will be expecting your call then."

She crossed her heart. "Hope to die if I tell a lie."

He frowned at her. She frowned back. He turned on his heel and left.

The moment he left, she abandoned the bar and her half-empty glass and went straight to her bedroom. The Ascendant was still where she had hidden it, buried under a triple layer of cloaking spells. She felt the device hum softly in her hands, and her mind started chasing multiple schemes…

* * *

The lights and the music rammed against Bonnie's skull, stabbing through her still sore ear, and not for the first time, she wished she knew some healing spells. Her heart was still pounding from the exertion of frying that handsy upperclassman.

This was a bad idea. She had to get out of here, Caroline or no Caroline.

She looked across the hall. She had a clear view of said Caroline at the bar, sipping a drink and eyeing the bartender like if he was her next meal. Which he probably was. A little away, but still within view, were Elena and Stefan, their eyes also trained on Caroline.

Caroline was fine. Bonnie was not. She staggered to the fringes of the rave, found a relatively quiet corner and sank to the floor.

She had no idea how much time had passed, minutes, hours. The music echoed from the ground through her bones, but a muted, dulled sound, not like the pounding of before. It almost lured her to a sense of calm.

Her phone was buzzing, and she pulled it out of her jacket, then broke into smile at the sight of Damon's face.

Damon, Bonnie thought gladly. Her dear friend. Who had saved her from 1994. It would be wonderful to hear his voice.

She was about to tap the screen when her haunches went up and she felt it – that cold void that meant only one thing…

A vampire about to strike.

And her eyes went up just in time to see Caroline flying at her, teeth bared.

The aneurysm hit mid-flight and Caroline fell to the ground.

"What the hell?" Bonnie shouted.

"Ow-ow-ow!" Caroline raised a hand. "Quit it, Bonnie!"

Bonnie reduced the intensity, but left it at a dull ache.

"Pretty good reflexes," Caroline said, gasping from where she knelt.

"Were you trying to eat me?" Bonnie asked, still shaking.

"Seriously, Bonnie?" Caroline almost sounded like her normal self. "Which part of 'wanting to keep a low profile and not have any regrets one year from now' don't you understand? Don't you think that eating my best friend and everyone's resident go-to witch is the opposite of both?"

"You attacked me."

"I was just having a bit of fun. It was either that or let Stefan 'Wet Blanket' Salvatore corner me at the bar. Lighten up, will you? And talking about lightening up, my head is about to implode."

Bonnie took a deep breath, exhaled and the aneurysm lifted. Caroline straightened slowly to her feet.

The tall blonde girl looked at the darker petite girl with an unsettling smile on her face.

"What do you want, Caroline?" Bonnie asked nervously, not liking that smile one bit. "I thought you wanted us to leave you alone."

"And yet here you are. Less than 24 hours after 9 months of complete isolation, stalking me," Caroline drawled.

Bonnie looked away, muttering, "It was 5 months of complete isolation. I spent 4 months with Damon. And you invited me, remember?"

"Didn't expect you to come. I'd have thought loud music, an unruly crowd and sweaty bodies would be the last place you'd want to be."

Bonnie bit her lip and said nothing.

Caroline sneered. "So which one roped you in? Elena's big brown egocentric eyes or Damon's manipulative eyebrows of crazy?"

Despite… everything… that almost made Bonnie snicker. "Neither. I was – am worried about you. You are my best friend, after all."

"I'm also an anal-retentive OCD bitch – and that was when I was human. Left on your own, you'd probably have sat this one out but one of the Dreaded Duo made you think you had to come babysit me."

Bonnie glared at her. "If you're trying to tell me that I don't have to watch you-"

Caroline threw back her head and laughed. It was a grating sound that made Bonnie itch to either slap her or set her on fire.

"Look at you," the vampire said at last, her mouth wide and wicked, "going all defensive on them. I just wish they gave half a damn about you. Lemme see if I remember, 'Bonnie's death makes me sad but Damon's makes me wanna die'." Her eyes grew overly large. Then she narrowed them and laughed again. "Yeah, that was Elena. Then Damon … Well, we'd probably have got you out the moment he got back but he went around telling everyone that you had died and gone to Witch-heaven. Then when Kai got out, he was too busy keeping Alaric's new squeeze safe to give a damn about you." Caroline's face settled into a smug grin.

Bonnie shot out an aneurysm at her, then sent her flying into the wall.

Then she ran out of the rave, and told herself that it was sweat, not tears that were soaking her face.

* * *

Thanks to everyone that reviewed! In a rush so I can't do replies this time but I will the next time I update. Cheers!

Next: **Annual Physical**.

Please this fic is unbeta'd so if you see any typos, etc, please let me know. And, of course, just let me know in general if you like it by reviewing. :)


	5. Annual Physical

**Chapter Five. Annual Physical**

Bonnie's phone buzzed. She reached for it, forgetting her handbag in her lap and she dropped it, its contents scattering over the floor. Mortified, Bonnie dashed to her knees to gather her things. Most of the other patients that were waiting for the Physician just stared idly, but a couple of young men – they looked like upperclassmen, bent down to help her.

When her stuff were gathered, she scrambled back to her seat, muttering her thanks and completely missing the appreciative look they both sent her way.

She looked at the offending phone and saw the '1 Voicemail' blinking on the screen.

It was from Damon.

" _Hi BonBon. Tried calling you at the rave. Elena said you bailed on her. Can you call me back? I need a favour_."

Bonnie pursed her lips. Neither he nor Elena had called to ask her how she was after she left the rave. She had spent the night alone in the dorm – Elena must have been with Damon and Caroline was god knows where – and stayed awake for hours, shivering at every sudden noise while Caroline's spiteful words echoed in her head. She had finally fallen asleep and had repeating dreams of Kai Parker.

 _Who was dead. Dead. Dead._

She tried not to let Caroline's words poison her. But it was hard. Neither Elena nor Damon knew where she went after she left the rave. Knew if she was even OK. And now Damon was calling, not to check on her, but because he needed something.

A nurse came out to call the next patient and Bonnie noticed that one of the two guys who had helped her before went with her. She sighed, and hoped it won't be much longer for her – and the ear infection she had brought from the 1994 Prison World. She smiled a little to herself, remembering the medical books she had started reading when it had started. She had raided the Mystic Falls hospital for antibiotics. She'd probably be able to treat it on her own. Given enough time to just study, who knows how much she could have self-taught? Kai Parker had apparently taught himself how to fly. One could do practically anything in an empty world, with nothing but time.

Of course, Kai Parker couldn't die in that world.

 _Dead. Dead. Dead._

Bonnie shivered. Banished him from her mind.

She was home now and she took a simple pleasure in just coming to the hospital and seeing it full of people – patients like herself, nurses and doctors. No amount of knowledge or skills was worth trading this in.

She watched as a tall, dark-haired doctor stepped out of an office and started up a conversation with the nurse at the desk. There was something about her that was oddly familiar, and Bonnie was staring, trying to figure out where she knew her from – when the doctor turned to look right at her.

Bonnie tensed, shock and anger and confusion suddenly churning through her, strong enough that she could feel the heat in her face.

The doctor was staring now, and Bonnie looked away quickly. What was the matter with her? Where did she know the woman from? And why was she reacting so negatively towards her mere presence?

To her horror, she could hear the sound of approaching steps and she knew without looking up that the doctor was walking towards her. Her heart thudded in anticipation.

"Bonnie? Bonnie Bennett?"

Bonnie looked up, unwillingly. "Yes?" She asked in a voice that she hoped was normal. She tried to swallow discreetly, dampen the spike in her emotions.

The doctor eyed her appraisingly. Bonnie stared back. She was tall, with dark hair and dark blue eyes. Bonnie was certain she had never met her before.

And yet…

"I'm Dr. Jo Laughlin. We both know Elena Gilbert, she's one of my students."

Bonnie remembered then. This was the Jo that Elena had spoken about. The woman in the car, who Bonnie had imagined staring at her.

Right?

When the doctor raised her eyebrows, Bonnie remembered her manners and she offered her hand. "Bonnie Bennett. Pleased to meet you."

The moment their hands clasped, a current of electricity seemed to pass through them, strong enough to jar. Bonnie yanked her hand back at once.

The doctor stared at her. But not in a 'wow, did you feel that?' kind of way but in a 'wow, are you ok 'cos you're acting really weird?' kind of way.

Bonnie felt her face heat up.

"So your doctor has a waiting list as long as my arm; and I was just about to take a lunch break. I checked and you're here for an ear infection. If you'd like, I can ask the nurse to send your file to my office and take a look at it right away."

"O-oh, thank you but I don't want to be a bother-"

The doctor smiled a little. "I won't be offering if you were. Come on, then," she said, brightly and that was that. Bonnie had no choice but to follow her into her office.

* * *

"When was your last physical?" The Doctor asked as she peered through some shiny pen-sized instrument with flashlight into the recesses of Bonnie's ear canal.

Bonnie thought hard about it, all the while trying not to get distract by the warmth of Dr. Laughlin's palm on her cheek, which she used to hold Bonnie's face in place.

She had been gone for nine months. The year before then she had been an immortal anchor. And before then, she had been a ghost for a whole summer. And she had missed her last physical just before her death.

"Three years," Bonnie murmured.

Dr. Laughlin tut-tutted as she switched off the light and walked to her desk.

"I'm scheduling one for you then."

"Oh. OK. When?"

"Now."

"What?"

Dr. Laughlin tilted her head. "You've been on time-out for nine months, without access to professional medical care, and that's not even considering goodness what my brother did to you in 1994."

Bonnie felt her face literally freeze as shock rippled through her.

The doctor gave her a thin smile. "Dr. Laughlin yes, but until fifteen years ago, my legal name was Josette Parker. I take it your friends didn't feel you in on what you missed while you were away?"

Of course, Damon had told her that Kai was dead, having lost the merge to the sister he mutilated. But if he had mentioned names, Bonnie didn't remember them. She stared at the woman in front of her in shock – so this was Kai's twin. This was the new leader of the Gemini coven.

Jo nodded and, for a brief moment, she lowered the shield that must have been around her all this while and Bonnie almost recoiled from the wave of power emanating from the woman. Then she raised back her shield.

"You can call me Jo."

So Bonnie's ear exam ended up being a full-body check-up. Jo apparently turned away her patients for the rest of the day to focus on Bonnie. After an excruciatingly thorough physical examination, she was sent to the lab where she gave up more blood to the lab that day than she did in all the times she had done the Ascendancy spell in the prison world combined.

Some hours later, she was lying again on the examination bed in Jo's office while the doctor bandaged up her broken toenails.

"I've been carrying those for weeks now," Bonnie said, trying not to squirm. She was a bit ticklish and the doctor was very… well, handsy was really the best way to describe it.

"I don't suppose you ever thought of healing yourself with magic. Oh, I forgot, you sent your magic away in a teddy bear."

Bonnie bit her lip. That was the disconcerting thing about this visit. On the one hand, she knew that Jo Laughlin was now the leader of the Gemini coven and an incredibly powerful witch. But most of the time, she was brisk and clinical and then she'd say something like this that would throw Bonnie off balance.

"Let me see that scar again."

Bonnie lifted her blouse up, a little self-consciously.

Jo's eyes were hooded as her longer fingers probed it gently. "You say it no longer itches?" she asked softly.

"Not for over a month now."

"You did the stitches yourself? No anaesthesia?"

Bonnie nodded, trying not to squirm away. Jo's thumb was stroking the scar, her eyes glazed over, as if her mind was far away. She endured it for another moment, and then she did squirm.

Jo's eyes snapped to attention, and she moved her hand away. Bonnie put down her blouse as unobtrusively as possible.

If the doctor took offense, she didn't show it. She gestured in the general direction of Bonnie's torso. "I can get that off in a few minutes."

"By magic or medicine? Because I'm not sure I can afford the latter and I don't know if you charge for the former."

"Well since my brother gave it to you, I can do it pro bono."

Bonnie hesitated.

"Unless you're keeping it as a souvenir?"

Bonnie flinched. "Your bedside manner could do with some work."

Jo smiled, hard and sharp. "I'm not one of those people that will tell you the nicest things and not lift a finger to help you."

 _Elena_ , Bonnie thought at once, traitorously and glared at Jo, wondering if that was what she was implying.

But Jo was going on, "and talking about helping you… a little gratitude should be in order, right?"

"I _was_ going to wait to see my own doctor," Bonnie snapped. "You're the one who offered to-"

"That's not what I was talking about."

"You mean, the full physical? That was your idea, not mine."

"Clearly, I need to add a psych evaluation to your prescription. Because I know for a fact that it's not every day that somebody almost dies saving your life. And your reaction to this is borderline sociopathic. I should know."

Bonnie felt like if she was swimming in the dark. She had no idea what Jo was trying to say. And it must have showed on her face because the doctor frowned at her.

"Your birthday? Suicide by carbon monoxide asphyxiation? Suddenly realizing that there was magic in Novia Scotia waiting for a Bennett witch to help herself? Tell me if I need to use smaller words."

Bonnie had been flinching as Jo started talking – the memory of that day, her body heavy on the ground, the despair, the helplessness, waiting for her life to end…

Then the rest of what Jo was saying sank in.

"That was you? You were the one who… opened the garage door," Bonnie said the last almost in a whisper, the memories rushing in. "The magazine that was open on the snooker table…"

"Jeremy Gilbert and I were there. Witnessed the whole thing. Did you keep a record of your last words? Because if you ever wanted to get into Drama, that would be a great audition tape. Actor or screenwriter, take your pick."

"I'm so glad you found it funny," Bonnie said, through gritted teeth swallowing hard on the lump of pain – anger? – in her throat and wondering if it would be bad etiquette to kick her doctor in the face while she was bandaging up her toes.

"Actually I found it sad. Not sad-tragic. More like sad-pathetic. What did you think was going to happen when you sent away your magic and trapped yourself in the prison world with Kai? That he was just going to give up? Or that when he found a way to escape, he'd forget all the times you tried to stop him and take you along?"

"I thought my friends would come back for me," Bonnie said quietly.

"Yes, because they've had such an excellent track record of putting themselves before you."

Bonnie recoiled. She stared up at Jo's beautiful but cold face. "Why are you so hateful?"

"Maybe because I expected some gratitude from you and I didn't get it."

"Damon didn't tell me-"

"Of course, he didn't. He's _Damon_. But how did you figure out he finagled your rescue? Or did you simply not care to look past the fact that your precious Damon claimed to have saved you? Were you so desperate to believe someone gave a damn about you?"

Bonnie felt bile rising in her throat, and she couldn't tell if it was hurt or anger that was choking her.

The doctor sniffed, her whole demeanor oozing with contempt. "I guess it was too much to expect an ounce of common sense from a witch who gives up her magic and her life time and time again at so little cost. You don't think your life or your power has any value so why the hell should anyone else be expected to? I'd love to think you'd learnt to before the next time your friends come crying to you for another favor that ends with you being sacrificed for their sakes..."

"I'm never going to do that again," Bonnie managed to choke out. "Risk my life for anyone. I learnt that much from 1994."

Jo looked at her, her blue eyes hard and cold. She had her brother's eyes, Bonnie realized with a shiver.

"Don't expect me to hold my breath," she snapped and shoved her wheeled chair from the exam bed.

She was brisk and business-like after that, rattling out a series of instructions, medication, physical therapy, a _psych evaluation_. She said the last with a pointed glare that shut up the protests on the tip of Bonnie's tongue.

"One last thing, Bon, if – why am I kidding myself – _when_ Damon comes whining to you about his ripper mom, save yourself the trip and do _not_ come asking me for the 1903 Ascendant."

"Ripper mom? ... Why would Damon…?" Bonnie started, not knowing which question to ask first, then trailed off when Jo tilted her head at her.

"Get some common sense, Bonnie. It's free."

* * *

Thanks to everyone that reviewed! In a rush so I can't do replies this time but I will the next time I update. Cheers!

Next: **My Vampire BFF**

Please this fic is unbeta'd so if you see any typos, etc, please let me know. And, of course, just let me know in general if you like it by reviewing. :)


	6. My Vampire BFF

**Chapter Six. My Vampire BFF**

"So, here's the thing, BonBon, I need a new daylight ring?"

She wasn't expecting that. "What happened to your old one?"

Damon shook his head. "You do not want to know!" But the way he looked at her said plainly that he was just dying to narrate the story.

So, perversely, she refused to ask. "I don't know if I can help you, Damon."

"Why?" he demanded, his eyes narrowing.

She squirmed on the couch, a familiar sinking feeling descending inside her as she tried to avoid his eyes.

"You know that I drew out Qetsiya's magic from that rock. Expression magic," she added meaningfully, then she sighed. "It's… unpredictable. I haven't been able to use it to perform any simple spells, ordinary magic. It only seems to work when I'm…" She thought of Caroline, reeling from her aneurysm. "When I'm hurting someone."

"So get your magic from Ms Cuddles." He had given the bear back the first night Bonnie was back.

"I can't."

"You can't what?"

"I can't draw my magic from Ms Cuddles. I'm too full of Qestiya's magic and I don't know how to get it out. I'm not a siphon, Damon. I can't just" – she waved her hands in frustration as she tried to express herself with words – "pour magic in and out of my body like water in a cup. _He_ made it seem like nothing but it's not. At least not for a normal witch like myself."

"So what are you doing about it?"

She bristled. "We'll just have to wait until I've expended all the Expression magic from my body."

"So go ahead and do that. Kick all the asses you need to kick, use up the Expression, and get your magic back."

For a long moment, Bonnie imagined 'using up' her Expression by placing a perpetual aneurysm on his head. Instead she jumped to her feet.

"You can be such an insensitive dick, Damon," she snapped.

She was half-way out the room, when he vamp-sped to block her.

"Damon…" she said warningly.

He raised his hands up. "Hey, I'm sorry, OK? I've been forced to stay indoors all day. I have cabin fever. Didn't mean to take it out on you."

"You can still go out at night, Damon."

"Like what? A vampire?" He laughed.

She refused to crack a smile, but she unbent just a little. "I'll see if I can find anything in my grimoires about moving magic, OK? Just hang in there for a little while."

"Do I have a choice?" he asked, the laugh in his face changing back to a scowl.

She moved to go but he blocked her again. "There's one more thing, though. My mom in the 1903 prison world."

Bonnie tensed. She had sat silently while Damon lamented about his mother for the first few minutes of her visit, and even before she left Whitmore to the Salvatore house, Elena had already filled her in on the discovery of Lily's empty coffin.

"I need to get the 1903 Ascendant from Jo."

Damon's eyes all but bugged out of his head as he stared earnestly at her while Jo Laughlin's voice played like a recording in her head.

 _"One last thing, Bon, if – why am I kidding myself – when Damon comes whining to you about his mom, save yourself the trip and do not come asking me for the 1903 Ascendant."_

"Why ask me?" Bonnie asked coldly. "When there's Elena and Alaric and the twins? Why would I have a shot with Jo?"

His eyes narrowed again. "So you already know that I asked her and she said no?"

Bonnie fidgeted, feeling guilty – then feeling annoyed at herself for feeling guilty.

"I think Elena mentioned it."

Which was true. Elena had mentioned it. But Bonnie had already known before – had got the news from the horse's mouth, so to speak. But some instinct warned Bonnie not to let Damon know this.

Damon seemed to accept her words at face-value because he then continued, "I've asked all of them. Jo's been pissed off with Elena and Alaric since your birthday. Goodness knows why? The twins don't want to help. Witches. No offence to present company, of course."

Bonnie folded her arms, and stared up into his face for a long moment, long enough for him to squirm. When she spoke, her voice was frosty. "What possible reason could they have for not wanting to help? It's not like if you're talking about releasing a ripper into Mystic Falls. Oh wait – you _are_ talking about releasing a ripper into Mystic Falls!"

He looked shocked. "Are you kidding me?"

"Are _you_ kidding _me_?"

"She's my _mom_ , Bonnie. I have to at least see her. Talk to her. Then I can decide if she's coming back or not. And," he added with the air of a man pulling out a joker, "it's not just for me, it's for Stefan."

"If you raised Stefan's hope about your mom, then I'm sorry but that's your prob-"

"Stefan turned off his humanity switch."

Bonnie took a staggering step back. "What? How? _Why?_ "

"Ask your vampire BFF, Caroline. Apparently he pissed her off and she made him do it."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes," Damon sneered. "And we all know no-humanity Stefan is one meal away from ripper!Stefan which apparently, he gets honestly from my mom." Then his eyes narrowed. "Wait a minute, how did you know my mom was a ripper? Alaric just got it out of Jo a few hours ago-"

Bonnie raised her hand to ward off his question, "OK, OK, assuming that Jo will even listen to me-"

"Oh, she will," Damon said at once. "You're apparently her mentor's grand-daughter or the other. She adored Sheila. I wish someone had thought to tell me that before I compelled Alaric to steal the Ascendant from her."

"What?"

"Long story."

"Mmmm…" Bonnie stored that little tidbit in her head for another day. "So… I ask her, she gives us the Ascendant. You'll still need Bennett blood."

His eyebrows went up. "Yes, Captain Obvious."

"You're not getting mine."

His mouth fell open. It would have been funny if she hadn't been so angry.

" _Have you completely lost it, Damon?_ Do you remember when I got stuck in a Prison World for five months because I refused to let a psychopath out? What the fuck would make you think that I'd willy nilly let another psychopath from another prison world out just because she's your fucking mother? Or have you forgotten what you did to my mother?"

"Abby-"

"Shut up, Damon! _What the hell do you take me for?_ Do you have any idea what I went through after you left? What I suffered in Kai's hands? I did all that to keep you and this stupid town safe. And now because she's your mother, you want me to help you free _another Kai_?"

"My mother is not Kai-"

"The Gemini coven built an entire world to lock her up in. I think she definitely qualifies to be on the Top Ten Most Dangerous Supernaturals List."

His face turned ugly. "So you're not going to help me. After everything I did…"

"Did what, Damon? Told people I had died instead of trying to save me? Left me to drive _seven hours_ across the country instead of meeting me halfway? Or when, finally, Jo and Jeremy were trying to save me, you couldn't even stick around for ten lousy minutes to watch their backs and I almost died?"

"When you put it that way, it does look bad, Bonnie but –" He reached out for her.

Bonnie raised her hand and sent him flying to the wall.

"Fuck. You."

Then she left.

* * *

Luke saw the missed calls from his Dad when he got back from classes. Several missed calls. He called back in a hurry, afraid he had missed an emergency.

Apparently, his idea of an emergency and Joshua Parker's were not the same.

"Have you been in touch with your older sister of late?"

"Haven't seen her since the Merge. Why?"

"I need you to get in touch with her. Keep an eye on her and report to me."

Luke stiffened. "Dad, I hope you're not asking me to spy on Jo because I'll have you know-"

"I won't be asking if I wasn't worried about Jo. I spoke to her recently and she behaved completely out of character. Now, I understand she has some anger towards me but this was out of proportion. I worry about the effects of the merge, just how much of her personality was affected by Kai."

"Well, you should know better than anyone else the rules of the Merge Ceremony, right? It's the twin that wins that has the dominant personality."

"Yes, that is true," Joshua admitted.

"So maybe Jo is just mad that her Dad tried to kill her on Thanksgiving. I don't know what would be the appropriate proportion of anger she should be feeling towards you now."

"Mind your tone, young man," Joshua said sharply.

"Or maybe you're just surprised that Jo is her own woman and wants to rule in her own right, and not let you rule by proxy as you'd have done with me or Liv."

There was a long tense moment, while Luke braced himself, surprised yet satisfied at the words he had thrown at his father.

"I can see that your stay in Virginia has made you and your sister not only irresponsible but insolent. Your assignment with the Travellers ended almost a year ago. It's high time you reported back to the coven."

Luke smirked. "Newsflash, Dad. You're not coven leader anymore. Which means you don't get to tell me what to do."

The moment that followed was even longer and tenser. Luke could almost hear his father grinding his teeth.

"Very well then, Lucas," Joshua said and the conversation ended.

Luke gave himself a moment to calm down. Then he dialled Jo's number. Apparently, this was a day for him to clearly declare his allegiances.

* * *

"What the hell? You're on Caroline Watch duty again?"

Bonnie slanted her eyes at the blonde and slanted them back down at her drink. "Fuck off, Caroline."

The blonde's big eyes went so wide they almost fell off. "No way did Bonnie Bennett just swear at me." She hopped up on the stool beside Bonnie and waved at the bartender. "I'll have whatever she's having." She turned to Bonnie. "This has got to be good."

Bonnie didn't say a word, just took another swing, felt the burn down her throat to her gut.

"Oooh, should we play a guessing game, right? Let me think… You asked Damon and Elena if what I said yesterday was true… and turns out it was. Your friends suck and don't care if you live or die. Now you're drinking away your sorrows." Her smile sharpened. "Betcha wish you had a humanity switch, don't you?"

Bonnie scowled. "Why don't you go eat someone already, Care?"

Caroline squealed with laughter and made no effort to leave. She took another gulp of her drink and kept staring at Bonnie, her eyes dancing with mirth and possibilities.

Bonnie gave her a sideways look. "Heard what you did to Stefan."

"He was pissing me off."

"I also heard you tried to find me. Tracked Stefan down and everything to help. Until Damon told you that I was dead."

Caroline frowned. "Why are you bringing that up? Is this some sort of trick, where you try to get me to turn off my switch by remembering how miserable I was when I thought you had died? For what? The second or third time? Because – newsflash, you're being dead is completely un-re-mark-a-ble. It happens every other year. I have a standing outfit for your funeral, complete with accessories."

Bonnie smiled spitefully. "Yeah, you act like you don't care but I think you'd have helped more if your mom hadn't got sick and died on your sorry ass."

Caroline lurched at her, but Bonnie was ready, her eyes cutting through the vampire's skull until Caroline was holding her head and forcing back screams.

"Hey, missy are you OK?" the bartender asked.

Bonnie let up, going back to her drink. Caroline flinched, shaking off the last of the aneurysm. Then locked gazes with the bartender.

"Go pick a fight with someone and get fired."

His concerned expression morphed into a snarl and he was off, disappearing into the crowd.

Caroline gave Bonnie a challenging look. The witch didn't even blink.

"Was that supposed to upset me?" she asked, bored.

Caroline raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you sure you didn't turn off a witchy switch somewhere?"

"Maybe I'm just tired of caring about everybody but myself. Maybe I just feel like being selfish for a bit."

"I could help you with that," Caroline said.

Bonnie gave her a look. "Really?"

"Nothing says selfish as much as going around campus, wrecking some havoc. You like setting things on fire, don't you?"

"What happened to your rules?"

"Oh, I'll just watch. And compel anyone who gets in your way."

Bonnie smirked. "I think I'll pass."

Caroline smirked back. "I'm going to go mingle…" The tips of her fangs descended. "Let me know if you change your mind."

She sashayed onto the dance floor. Bonnie watched her go. In the distance, she heard a shout. The bartender must have found his fight.

She shook her head at the whole situation and took another swig from her drink … then realized it was empty. "Great. Thanks to Caroline, I have no bartender and I can't even get properly drunk this night."

A small crowd was forming at the bar as people tried to get their alcohol fix.

Bonnie slipped through them and started making her way through the crowd.

She cut between Caroline and a sophomore with vacant brown eyes and without a word, the two girls started dancing, moving to the music with the ease of friends who had been dancing together for longer than they could remember, and lost souls who had no care in the world.

Bonnie stood on tip-toe and whispered into Caroline's ear. "Let's go burn this campus."

Caroline grinned. "That's my girl."

* * *

Thanks to everyone that reviewed! You really encourage me to keep writing. And please if you read and liked it, a few seconds to say something, anything, would be really appreciated.

Next: **Girls Just Wanna Have Fun**

Please this fic is unbeta'd so if you see any typos, etc, please let me know. And, of course, just let me know in general if you like it by reviewing. :)


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